Generally, as means for suturing a wound in a surgical operation, medical staples are used, in addition to suture-threads (see, e.g., JP-B2-3054202). The medical staple consists of a crown portion and staple leg portions that extend in a curved manner downwardly from curved parts at both sides of the crown portion, respectively. The medical staples are used by means of a medical stapler. The medical stapler has a stapler body having a head portion loaded with staples and has also a manipulating lever turnably attached to the stapler body. Usually, the manipulating lever is preliminarily urged in an opening direction in which the manipulating lever is spaced from the stapler body. In order to suture a wound, a user strongly grips and turns the manipulating lever in a closing direction. Thus, the medical staple is protruded from the head portion. Then, the medical staple is put into skin, while both sides of the wound are brought toward each other.
The wound is sutured by inwardly bending both tip end parts of the medical staple.
In a case where a wound is sutured using a suture-thread, the wound between threading holes formed in both sides thereof is bound with the suture thread. Accordingly, even after removal of the suture-thread, it is often that a scar of the thread is left on skin. On the other hand, in a case where a wound is sutured using a medical staple, the crown portion of the medical staple is not contacted with skin. Consequently, after removal of the medical stapler is removed, only the scar of the wound is left on the skin. Thus, generally, an operative scar is neat. Accordingly, a suturing operation using a medical stapler is expected to become widespread.
Meanwhile, basically, medical staplers are disposable.
Accordingly, upon completion of a suturing operation, medical staplers are discarded, regardless of how many medical staples are left in the medical stapler.
However, even when a medical stapler is discarded without performing processing thereon after a suturing operation is finished (i.e., after the medical stapler is used), the manipulating lever is put into an open state with respect to the stapler body urged in an opening direction. Thus, the manipulating lever is in a bulky state in which the manipulating lever is largely spaced from the stapler body and protrudes from the stapler body. The cost of disposal of medical waste, from which persons are at risk of infection, is higher than that of disposal of ordinary waste. Reduction of the volume of waste is a major problem in reducing the expenditure of a hospital and the cost of disposal of waste.
Further, in a suturing operation, all medical staples loaded in a medical stapler are not always used. Sometimes, medical staples remain in a medical stapler that is to be discarded.
Thus, the problem of poor hygiene is caused as follows. That is, when an external force is applied to the manipulating lever in the middle of disposal of a garbage bag containing a medical stapler, a staple driven out of this medical stapler breaks through the garbage bag. Thus, the medical staple contaminated with the body fluid of a patient is exposed.
As a countermeasure to such a problem, there is provided a method for driving out all of medical staples left in a medical stapler as wastes and then individually discarding the medical staples and the medical stapler. However, this method has the following problems. That is, an operating room is contaminated with unnecessary medical staples driven out as wastes. In addition, this method causes a situation in which the medical staples driven out as wastes accidentally adhere to a patient.
Additionally, another method for disassembling a medical stapler and then discarding the medical stapler is considered.
However, this method is inconvenient in that fine staples should be treated when the medical stapler is disassembled.
In addition, there is a fear that fine components are scattered in the operating room during the operation. Thus, this method is not an effective means.